The Government has published a White Paper and a House of Lords Reform Draft Bill.
The proposals in the White Paper do not derive from first principles and add little or nothing to previous White Papers on the subject. They are premised on the assumption that the second chamber can be maintained in some political vacuum, with election of the second chamber having no consequences for the existing powers of the House or for the existing relationship of the two Houses. This position is not tenable. As the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee of the House of Commons noted in its report on the House of Lords, published on 10 May: "The existing conventions governing relations between the two Houses will not survive in their current form if the upper House is given democratic legitimacy".
When a statement was made in both Houses on 17 May on the Government's proposals, the reaction was overwhelmingly critical. It was friendless among MPs as well as peers:
The media appeared to be underwhelmed, with the coverage being almost wholly critical: